David Johnston
OBE MP
Official portrait, 2019
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children, Families and Wellbeing
Assumed office
31 August 2023
Prime MinisterRishi Sunak
Preceded byClaire Coutinho
Member of Parliament
for Wantage
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byEd Vaizey
Majority12,653 (18.8%)
Personal details
Born
David Mervyn Johnston

(1981-11-27) 27 November 1981
Whitechapel, London, England
Political partyConservative
EducationBalliol College, Oxford[1]
Websitewww.david-johnston.org.uk

David Mervyn Johnston OBE (born 27 November 1981) is a British politician who has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children, Families and Wellbeing since August 2023.[2] A member of the Conservative Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wantage since 2019.[3][4]

On 6 July 2022, he resigned from his position as Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Department for Education amid the Chris Pincher scandal which led to Boris Johnson’s resignation as Prime Minister.

Early life and education

Johnston was born in Whitechapel, East London, to parents Mervyn and Carol Johnston. He attended Tom Hood Comprehensive School and Sir George Monoux Sixth Form College, before going on to university at Balliol College, Oxford, where he gained a BA in Modern History and Politics in 2003.[3]

Career

From 2003 to 2006, Johnston was co-ordinator of the Oxford Access Scheme. He then became a director of Future, holding this role from 2006 to 2009.[3]

Before he became an MP, he was chief executive of the Social Mobility Foundation for over ten years, from 2009 to 2020.[5][6] He was also a member of the Social Mobility Commission from 2012 to 2017.[7]

Johnston was a governor at Sir George Monoux Sixth Form College, where he had studied, from 2008 to 2016, as well as Pimlico Academy from 2008 to 2017.[3] He was elected to Wantage, a safe seat for the Conservative Party in Oxfordshire, in 2019. He succeeded Ed Vaizey.[8]

He served on the Education Select Committee between 2020 and 2021.[9] In September 2021, he was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Department for Education.[10] Johnston resigned as PPS on 6 July 2022, following other resignations in protest of Boris Johnson's conduct in the Chris Pincher scandal.[11]

On 31 August 2023 he was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children, Families and Wellbeing, replacing Claire Coutinho.[2]

Honours

Johnston was appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to social mobility and education, through his former role as chief executive of the Social Mobility Foundation.[12][13]

Personal life

Johnston's partner is Charlotte Pickles. He lists his recreations as travel, the outdoors and the gym, in addition to being a Liverpool season ticket holder.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs". Politics Home. 25 February 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Ministerial Appointments: 31 August 2023". GOV.UK. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Johnston, David Mervyn, (born 27 Nov. 1981), MP (C) Wantage, since 2019". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2020. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u294103. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  4. ↑ "Wantage parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  5. ↑ Johnston, David (3 November 2019). "David Johnston: Who will champion social mobility in the next parliament? And what should they say?". Conservative Home. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  6. ↑ O'Hara, Mary (20 June 2011). "Oxbridge: is hard work enough?". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  7. ↑ Johnston, David (26 January 2017). "Working Class? You Could Be Paid Less For Doing The Same Job". HuffPost. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  8. ↑ "Johnston, David". Politics.co.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  9. ↑ "Parliamentary career for David Johnston".
  10. ↑ "david4wantage". Twitter. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  11. ↑ "Three more British lawmakers resign from PM Johnson's government". Reuters. 6 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  12. ↑ Graham, Hannah (29 December 2017). "Who has been recognised on the New Year Honours List 2017?". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  13. ↑ "No. 62150". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2017. p. N12.
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